


Bronzed

by Moit



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Bronze (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 04:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19201720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moit/pseuds/Moit
Summary: While filmingThe Bronze, Sebastian meets a member of the U.S. Olympic team.





	Bronzed

**Author's Note:**

> I watched _The Bronze_ a couple days ago and I am _obsessed_ with Lance Tucker. I absolutely loved the film, and I thought Melissa Rauch was a riot. This sort of came out of my musings.
> 
> That said, you don’t have to have seen _The Bronze_ to enjoy this fic, but I highly recommend it.
> 
> I also took a lot of liberties with this fic, namely with times and locations to make it work for the plot. I’ve kept things as true to life as possible, where possible.

“ _That [tattoo] was on there for at least a week afterwards. I was in the gym in the steam room and was like, 'Ugh, I'm that guy now.'"_

-Sebastian Stan in an interview for Bustle, 2016

 

After a long week of filming, Sebastian opted to spend his day off stretched out on the California sand, never mind the ridiculous tattoo that had been attached to his lower belly since they filmed that outrageous sex scene. He hiked his swim shorts up higher and closed his eyes beneath his sunglasses. He was just beginning to doze off to the sound of the waves when he felt something hit his leg. Pushing up onto one elbow, he saw that he’d been struck by a bright yellow frisbee.

“Hey! A little help?” Standing several yards away was a blonde specimen with arms that looked like they could crush a truck.

Mouth dry, Sebastian tossed the frisbee back.

“Nice tattoo,” said the Adonis with a smirk.

Looking down, Sebastian realized his shorts had slipped back down. “It’s not real. It’s a temporary.”

Adonis took a step forward. “Are you an Olympian?”

“No.” Sebastian bit down on his smile. “I’m an actor.”

“Have you been in anything I might have seen?”

“ _Captain America_?”

“I don’t watch superhero movies, sorry. What’s your name?”

Sebastian’s smile faltered, and he gave his name.

“I’m Chris. So what’s with the tattoo, then?”

“Oh, it’s for a film I’m doing. The makeup artist said it should only last a few days, but that was Tuesday. I think she used superglue.”

“What sport are you playing?”

“Gymnastics.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Of course.”

“I take it you’re not a gymnast, then?”

“No. Hell no. I row crew.”

“For the U.S. Olympic team?” Sebastian asked, unable to keep the admiration out of his voice.

Chris preened. “Next summer, yeah.”

“Yo, Evans!”

Across the sand, a group of men who looked equally as ripped as Chris signaled for the frisbee that he tossed back to them.

“That your crew?” asked Sebastian.

“Yeah.” Chris jerked his chin in their direction. “So, I’ve gotta get back to them, but would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

*

“That’s the gold I won in Rio, the silver in London, gold for the first time in Beijing, and the bronze in Athens. Sydney, we didn’t medal, but I was 19, and it was my first Games.”

Each additional medal placed on Sebastian’s belly was chilly and heavier than he expected. He picked up the bronze. It was larger than his palm. Inscribed on the disc was Athens 2004, and he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. “The film I’m doing? It’s called _The Bronze_ , about a girl who wins bronze in _gymnastics_ ,” he pauses to let that sink in, “in Rome in 2004, and she can’t let it go.”

Chris frowned. “The ’04 Games were in Athens.”

“Boy, it’s a good thing you’re pretty.” The medals made a soft clinking noise as Sebastian shifted. “Is it true that the Olympic Village is like one big orgy? Bowls of condoms everywhere?”

Chris clutched his hands to his chest as he laughed. The well-defined muscles in his abdomen rippled. “The condoms,” he said, fighting to catch his breath, “the condoms—that’s true. But the orgy? Not so much. I’m sorry to ruin your fantasies.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You never got laid while you were in the Olympic Village?”

“I never said that. After you win, what is there to do but celebrate with the other top athletes in the world?”

“Ever bed a gymnast?”

Leaning close, Chris whispered, “I don’t kiss and tell.”

Naturally. Sebastian spread the medals out across his belly and chest so he could see them all. “Won’t people like, hunt you down for these? Shouldn’t they be in a safety deposit box or something?”

“Why? You planning to snatch one, Sebastian?”

“What the hell would I do with a bronze medal from _Athens_?”

“Sell it to the highest bidder. The gold would fetch more,” Chris said, stroking his finger along the rim of the Rio gold almost lovingly, “but you could probably get at least half a mil for the bronze alone.”

“Damn. So here you are sitting on…”

“Over three million dollars.”

“Over three million dollars,” repeated Sebastian. “You’ve done the math before.”

“Of course.”

“So, over three million dollars, and you’re living in a modest two-bedroom in West Hollywood. Why not go bigger?”

Chris stretched his arms up and pillowed his head on them. “Endorsements dry up. Eventually, my body will be too old and broken to compete, and I’ll have to be able to pay property taxes. Can’t go to the Olympics forever.”

“Come on, you can’t be that old.”

“How old do you think I am?”

Sebastian wouldn’t even try to do that math in his head, but considering Chris went to the Olympics for the first time when he was 19… “35?”

“38. I’ll be 39 next year, and this will probably be my last shot at gold.”

As Sebastian rolled onto his side, the medals pooled on the bed between them. “And then what?”

“Relax. Retire on my dividends. Get fat.”

Eyes roving over Chris’s body, Sebastian couldn’t imagine him being anything other than a bronze sculpture carved in flesh.

*

The following summer, while Sebastian was walking the red carpet in Cannes for the premiere of _The Bronze_ , Chris was at the Olympic opening ceremony in Tokyo. Attired in their best—Sebastian in a tux and Chris in a track suit—they each hoped for an award.

The seven-hour time difference meant that Chris was waking up on Thursday morning when Sebastian was returning to his hotel room after a night of celebratory after-parties. Sure, they could have texted. They could have watched live reports on television, but they’d agreed to share their news personally.

Pausing only long enough to unknot the bowtie around his neck, Sebastian propped up his iPad and FaceTimed Chris.

The rower’s face came into view, suntanned and creased from sleep, much the same as it looked the last time Sebastian had seen it.

They spoke simultaneously.

“Did you win?”

“How did it go?”

Sebastian waved his hand. “You go first. Your news is bigger than my news.”

In response, Chris held up the medal that was hanging around his neck. Even through the tenuous transcontinental connection, Sebastian could tell it was gold, and when Chris tilted it into the light, he could see Tokyo 2020 stamped into it.

“Yes! I knew you could do it! I told you you’d finish with a win. Yes! Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” said Chris, a soft smile on his face.

“How do you feel?”

“Tired. Just really, really tired. Good, but I can feel in my bones that I’m ready to be done with all of this. I think some of my teammates are still out partying. Time to give it over to them.”

“You’ve been doing this for a long time.”

Chris hummed in agreement. “So what about you? How did _The Bronze_ do? Did you guys get gold, too?”

“Ah, we got an honorable mention, but that was it. I mean, we weren’t panned, so that was good, but I actually thought the reception would be better than it was. Melissa was pretty disappointed, so I felt worse for her than I did for myself.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sebastian said through a yawn.

“You’re tired. You want me to let you go?”

“I should probably get to bed. Got an early flight tomorrow.”

“Yes, you do.”

“My boyfriend is supposed to pick me up from the airport.”

“So I hear.”

“Have a good night, Chris. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Sebastian ended the video chat. Tomorrow he’d be on a flight to Tokyo so he could watch the second half of the Olympics with Chris. It would be Chris’s last visit as a member of the Team U.S.A., and Sebastian felt honored to spend it with him. To commemorate the occasion, he’d even had another fake Olympic ribbon drawn on his lower belly. This time it was gold.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Feedback keeps me going xx


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